Inside the Magichttp://www.insidethemagic.net
Covering themed entertainment, from Disney and beyond!Sun, 02 Aug 2015 18:30:32 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Fresh Eyes Friday: Do Disneyland Like a VIPhttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/fresh-eyes-friday-do-disneyland-like-a-vip/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/fresh-eyes-friday-do-disneyland-like-a-vip/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 21:31:46 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64779It’s well known that a trip to any Disney Park is expensive, and the internet is brimming with articles about how to save some coin and still do it right. What if we throw budgeting out the window and try to spend as much money as possible? Let’s VIP this thing. Here’s what a $7,000 day at Disneyland looks like.

If you’re throwing cash around like confetti, the first place you’re going to want to aim it is at an amazing crash pad. While you’re at Disneyland, shack up at the Grand Californian, but not in any old room or suite. Connect with the signature suites for space to sleep up to twelve, elaborate stained glass windows, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and bathrooms that are straight ridiculous. These rooms are named after California landmarks and decorated in arts & crafts and mission styles reminiscent of California architects Greene & Greene.

When you’re booking your rooms (plural, because each suite has a living room, dining room, kitchen, office, bathroom, and bedrooms), make sure to get in on the club-level or concierge experience as well. With this bonus, you’ll get complimentary food service four times a day, free drinks, and fireworks viewing – plus a posh, private place in which to enjoy it all.

The Mount Whitney Suite needs no clever caption.I bet you Brewster’s Millions those flowers are fresh.Where does this thing even end?

Once you hit the actual parks, make sure you have your entourage with you. As a VIP, that means your personal tour guide (or Plaid, as they are sometimes referred to by curious outsiders who admire their smart, plaid outfits), who will make sure you get good seats at restaurants and shows. He or she will also drop insider info about the park as you stroll along.

If you don’t need a private experience, you probably aren’t a real VIP. But just in case you are a real VIP and want to walk among the worker bees for a day, jump in with one of the regular Disneyland group tours: Cultivating the Magic, Walk in Walt’s Footsteps, or Welcome to Disneyland. They’ll each take you and select group around the resort with about the same benefits as private tours.

At the very least, grab yourself some FASTPASSES to cut wait times at popular rides. Your time is Very Important, after all. FASTPASSES are available to everyone, but keep in mind that even Princess Jasmine needs to put on a shabby cloak and sneak out of the palace every once in awhile. It’s okay.

When your Very Important tummy starts to growl, head for one of a few schmancy restaurants at the Disneyland Resort. If you’re not park hopping, it’s Steakhouse 55, a much more private alternative to Napa Rose. This establishment is decorated with photos of fellow VIPs and is the new home of Club 33’s former chef. Order some crab cakes, a lobster tail, and the outstanding Delmonico guyere casserole for your main meal, to be followed with a cheese course and the 24-layer chocolate cake for dessert.

If you’re in-park, the top bet at Disneyland is the Blue Bayou. In all-day darkness, savor the surf & turf while you watch boats glide through the swampy Louisiana twilight. Over at DCA, duck into Carthay Circle. Start with some life-changing fried biscuits, the ceviche, and a bottle of Kurt Russell’s Gogi pinot to share. For your entrée, how about the angus steak with mashed potatoes? And you’ll definitely want to celebrate Disneyland’s 60th with some diamond truffles and a diamond Manhattan for dessert. The drink comes with Very Important “diamond-shaped ice, made from locally-sourced, purified water.”

Not that you need to choose restaurants based on anything other than awesomeness, but Carthay is an excellent value. The service, atmosphere, and cuisine are tops.In real life, it’s very dark inside Steakhouse 55. They just don’t like to photograph it that way.

End your VIP park day with a unique, in-park experience. Request a ride in the captain’s wheelhouse aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat or in the pilot’s cockpit of the monorail. While the rides are free, you’re more likely to secure them as a VIP.

If you roll in the wheelhouse, you’re in good company. Johnny Cash rolled in the wheelhouse.

Burning dolla billz is hard work, so when you arrive back at your signature suite, call down for a spa ritual at Mandara. You and your other Person need the combination facial and massage to reinvigorate you for the Very Important things that lie ahead. Enjoy!

Definitely add on some warm bamboo shoots, whatever those are for.

Up next week: Do Disneyland Like a Magic Kingdom Fan

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/fresh-eyes-friday-do-disneyland-like-a-vip/feed/1Exclusive Preview: “Figment” comic series 2 #1, Dreamfinder heads home to Epcothttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/exclusive-preview-figment-comic-series-2-1-dreamfinder-heads-home-to-epcot/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/exclusive-preview-figment-comic-series-2-1-dreamfinder-heads-home-to-epcot/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 18:14:30 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64895Figment and Dreamfinder make their return to the Journey into your Imagination attraction at Epcot in the new “Figment” comic series 2 #1. In this exclusive preview for Inside the Magic readers you will get the first glimpse of their long awaited return. We also have the first look at the classic cover variant by artist X Atencio

“Figment 2” will be written by Jim Zub and penciled by Ramon Bachs. The new mini series will have Figment and Dreamfinder in the modern world and they’re going to discover that a lot of things have changed in their absence. The legacy of dreams and imagination they left behind more than a hundred years ago is greater than they ever expected, but they’re going to find it hard to live up to their own legend. The sequel mini-series will come this fall to Disney Parks.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/exclusive-preview-figment-comic-series-2-1-dreamfinder-heads-home-to-epcot/feed/0Disney Pixar’s new short LAVA on Disney Movies Anywhere for a limited timehttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/disney-pixars-new-short-lava-on-disney-movies-anywhere-for-a-limited-time/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/disney-pixars-new-short-lava-on-disney-movies-anywhere-for-a-limited-time/#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 19:51:35 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64876Disney Pixar’s newest short LAVA, will be available to watch exclusively on digital on the Disney Movies Anywhere app for iPhone, iPad or iPod touch (http://di.sn/6001BD2Mh), for a limited two week window starting July 30th (7/30/15 – 8/12/15). Currently in theaters with “Inside Out,” Disney Movies Anywhere offers the only place where you can fall in “lava” with LAVA from the comfort of your own home!

LAVA is inspired by the isolated beauty of tropical islands and the explosive allure of ocean volcanoes, and is a musical love story that takes place over millions of years.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/disney-pixars-new-short-lava-on-disney-movies-anywhere-for-a-limited-time/feed/0AMC’s The Walking Dead: Returns to Halloween Horror Nights 25 at Universalhttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/amcs-the-walking-dead-returns-to-halloween-horror-nights-25-at-universal/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/amcs-the-walking-dead-returns-to-halloween-horror-nights-25-at-universal/#commentsThu, 30 Jul 2015 14:54:13 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64868Today Universal announced that we will see the return of the of the popular TV show the Walking Deafd to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. This will be the fourth consecutive year the zombie TV show has a house at the event and it will be featured at both Universal Orlando and Hollywood. The three-dimensional mazes will have the underlying theme of the inhumane brutality of mankind .

In a video that Universal released you get a taste of what to except from this years experience which promises “more gruesome, more horrifying, more walkers.”

Following in the footsteps of “The Walking Dead” cast, guests will begin their journey at the Terminus safe-haven compound, where an unspeakable hunger has consumed the demented souls of those dwelling within. As the chaos ensues, guests will encounter even greater atrocities as they stumble upon dismembered “W” walkers, witness the horror of victims besieged by the living dead, and step onto the loading dock of the Del Arno Food warehouse to face hordes of “W” walkers.

This year, when Universal Studios Hollywood introduces the all-original “The Walking Dead: Wolves Not Far,” it will come to life as the biggest, longest, most gruesome maze ever built at the West Coast destination of “Halloween Horror Nights.” This all-new experience will feature twice as many, never-before-seen walkers and will be situated within an entirely new theme park location.

Universal Orlando’s “The Walking Dead” maze will feature hordes of walkers and eerily recreate the scenes, settings and terror that guests have seen on their TV screens. The twisted minds of Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights team are using first-ever tactics to bring the horror of season 5 to life in this year’s maze – even placing guests in the iconic flooded food bank scene where they’ll be surrounded by hundreds of gallons of water as flesh-hungry walkers attack.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/amcs-the-walking-dead-returns-to-halloween-horror-nights-25-at-universal/feed/0PHOTOS: New promotional posters for upcoming TV show “The Muppets”http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/photos-new-promotional-posters-for-upcoming-tv-show-the-muppets/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/photos-new-promotional-posters-for-upcoming-tv-show-the-muppets/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 17:56:10 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64852The new TV show “The Muppets” will premiere on ABC September 22nd but you can already now get a glimpse of the kind of “adult humor” this new show will have by checking out these new promotional posters. Featuring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzie Bear, each with their very tongue in cheek tagline, this comedy show is sure to be a riot.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/photos-new-promotional-posters-for-upcoming-tv-show-the-muppets/feed/1PHOTOS: “Real Life” Disney guys come alive in fan art from Jirka Väätäinen Designhttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/photos-real-life-disney-guys-come-alive-in-fan-art-from-jirka-vaatainen-design/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/photos-real-life-disney-guys-come-alive-in-fan-art-from-jirka-vaatainen-design/#commentsWed, 29 Jul 2015 15:25:42 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64841Wonderful artist Jirka Väätäinen Design released this collection of art this morning showing the Disney Princes/Guys in a more real life way. This is just the first batch so more Disney characters art is on its way.

Artist Jirka has previously gained widespread attention for his envisioning of Disney characters in “Real Life”. See more of his art here jirkavinse.com

There is no question that you will do quite a bit of walking while at a Walt Disney World park. However, my tour guests are often surprised when they hear just how many miles they have accumulated by the end of the day. With today’s smartphone and wrist band technology, it is easy to see how many steps, miles, and even calories that are burned throughout your day. If you are interested in physical fitness, is there any better place to exercise than Walt Disney World? I thought it would be fun to map out routes in the parks to go exactly one mile. It was interesting to see that walking the outer most paths in each park basically provides a one mile “track.” I have provided screen shots of each route taken from my iPhone Runkeeper app.

Magic Kingdom

You will start at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom and walk up Main Street, USA. Go left at Casey’s and start your clockwise trek through Adventureland. Head all the way past Jungle Cruise and Pirates, and make a right turn at the corner of Pecos Bills. Continue through Frontierland and Liberty Square and enter Fantasyland near Peter Pan and Small World. After passing Pinocchio Village Haus, head into new Fantasyland and through Storybook Circus. Take the path near the Fantasyland Railroad Station into Tomorrowland. Head directly through Tomorrowland and make a hard left turn after passing by Monster’s Inc. At this point, you’ll make your way through Tomorrowland Terrace and back to Main Street. By the time you have returned to the park entrance, you would have walked one mile.

Future World

Epcot actually has two one-mile “courses.” The Future World one starts at the park entrance and heads to the right of Spaceship Earth. You go through the Innoventions West breezeway and head toward The Seas pavilion. Next, head past The Land pavilion going towards Journey Into Imagination. From there, you head back toward the middle of Future World, on the path that takes you south of Innoventions. At this point you will head into World Showcase for a short time and then return on the pathway just prior to Mexico. Now, you walk past the old Odyssey restaurant and continue by Test Track and Mission Space. You then head to the entrance of Enegy before making your way through the Innoventions East breezeway and back to the park entrance.

World Showcase

The World Showcase route is quite simple. You can basically start in any location and make a complete circle back to where you started. The loop around the World Showcase Lagoon is almost exactly one mile.

Hollywood Studios

From Epcot, we head over to Hollywood Studios. Like the Magic Kingdom, this is a clockwise route along the most outer walkways in the park. However, when you return toward the front of the park, you make a left on Sunset Boulevard and go all the way to the entrance of Rock n’ Roller Coaster. When you get back to the park exit, you would have gone a mile.

Animal Kingdom

Last, but not least, is Animal Kingdom. This park has a pretty simple one mile route. From the entrance, you head to the Tree of Life and bear left. You go all the way into Africa and make the right turn toward Asia. Continue all the way past Expedition Everest and down into Dinoland. Now approach the Tree of Life from the Dinoland side, and make the left turn toward the exit. Once you reach the front of the park, you will hit the one mile mark.

The next time you are looking to take a walk in Walt Disney World, I hope this article helps you plan your route. At the very least, it should give you a general idea of how far you are walking.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/tour-guide-tuesday-walk-a-mile-in-the-walt-disney-world-parks/feed/2VIDEO: What’s coming next on “Once Upon a Time”: Dark Swan, Merida and the Wicked Witchhttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-whats-coming-next-on-once-upon-a-time-dark-swan-merida-and-the-wicked-witch/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-whats-coming-next-on-once-upon-a-time-dark-swan-merida-and-the-wicked-witch/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 18:13:28 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64828When we left the ABC TV show Once Upon a Time last season the main character Emma Swan took a dark turn to transform herself into “Dark Swan”. Her story as the villain plus a lot of other new and returning characters is what we can look forward to when the 5th season of Once Upon a Time returns on September 27th.

One new character that will be showing up in the new season is Brave princess Merida. Actress Amy Manson from TV’s Atlantis and Misfits has been cast as the spirited red headed princess.

We will also see a return of Rebecca Mader as The Wicked Witch and Sean Maguire as Robin Hood who have been promoted to series regulars.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-whats-coming-next-on-once-upon-a-time-dark-swan-merida-and-the-wicked-witch/feed/0Epcot’s Garden Grill to start offering breakfast and lunch family-style mealshttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/epcots-garden-grill-to-start-offering-breakfast-and-lunch-family-style-meals/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/epcots-garden-grill-to-start-offering-breakfast-and-lunch-family-style-meals/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 16:53:39 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64819Garden Grill, the popular character meal restaurant inside the Land Pavilion at Epcot, will on November 8th start offering breakfast and lunch together with their previous dinner meals. The restaurant has for a long time been a fan favorite for its family-style food, views of the Living with the Land attraction and fun character interaction from Chip and Dale.

The new Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Breakfast Harvest Feast will offer such treats as biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, Mickey waffles, and their signature item, Chip’s Sticky Bun Bake in a all-you-care-to-enjoy family style.

On the lunch menu there will be Harvest-inspired Farmer’s Salad, char-grilled sliced filet of beef, roasted all-natural sliced turkey breast with freshly-harvested vegetables and scrumptious side dishes.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/epcots-garden-grill-to-start-offering-breakfast-and-lunch-family-style-meals/feed/0VIDEO: Sneak peek of the set design for “Tangled: The Musical” coming to Disney Cruise Linehttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-sneak-peek-of-the-set-design-for-tangled-the-musical-coming-to-disney-cruise-line/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-sneak-peek-of-the-set-design-for-tangled-the-musical-coming-to-disney-cruise-line/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 16:10:51 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64813Tangled: The Musical will premiere on the Disney Magic in November and the imagineers are right now busy trying to recreate the Rapunzel’s world for the exciting show.

In this video the show’s set designer, Brad Kaye takes us on a sneak peek of the wonderful places we will experience in the show.

]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-sneak-peek-of-the-set-design-for-tangled-the-musical-coming-to-disney-cruise-line/feed/1VIDEO: Watch the first six minutes of Disney’s Descendants, musical number “Rotten to the Core”http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-watch-the-first-six-minutes-of-disneys-descendants-musical-number-rotten-to-the-core/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-watch-the-first-six-minutes-of-disneys-descendants-musical-number-rotten-to-the-core/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2015 18:34:45 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64704On July 31st at 8p.m. Disney Channel will premiere the original movie Descendants, all about the children of famous Disney villains. Kenny Ortega, the director who brought you High School Musical, introduces the first 6 minutes of the new movie.

Prince Ben, son of Beast and Belle, declares that he will offer a chance at redemption to Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay, the teenage sons and daughters of Disney’s most infamous villains — Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Cruella de Vil and Jafar. But are these villainous descendants rotten to the core?

This sneak peek also offers us the first look at the musical number “Rotten to the Core”.

DESCENDANTS – Day 6. (DISNEY CHANNEL/Jack Rowand)DOVE CAMERON, KRISTIN CHENOWETH
]]>http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/video-watch-the-first-six-minutes-of-disneys-descendants-musical-number-rotten-to-the-core/feed/1Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters coming to Disneyland Resort, replacing Luigi’s Flying Tireshttp://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/luigis-rollickin-roadsters-coming-to-disneyland-resort-replacing-luigis-flying-tires/
http://www.insidethemagic.net/2015/07/luigis-rollickin-roadsters-coming-to-disneyland-resort-replacing-luigis-flying-tires/#commentsMon, 27 Jul 2015 17:41:00 +0000http://www.insidethemagic.net/?p=64766Luigi’s Flying Ties at Disney’s California Adventure closed its doors not too long ago and now the Disney Parks Blog has given us some more details on what we will see take its place early next year. Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters will be the name of the new ride and the ride will have guests dancing around with Luigi and his cugini (cousins) from his hometown of Carsoli, Italy. The new experience will feature both a new ride system and ride vehicles. and will celebrate Race Day in Radiator Springs by demonstrating the dances of their village with Cars Land guests.